Mountains to Molehills: Grading them

Published: Friday, October 26, 2012 at 7:27 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 26, 2012 at 7:27 a.m.

"It's just one man's opinion," John Albree of Columbus pointed out as he sharpened his pencil for a written assessment of the presidential and vice presidential debates. "For all you regular readers of this column, you know that I am just an 84-year-old retired Army officer and certainly not a political pundit in any sense of the term, but I have listened to all of the debates from start to finish, and for the most part I was happy when they came to their conclusion," he begins. "The first debate was no doubt a major win for former Gov. Mitt Romney. In fact, it was almost like Clint Eastwood's fictional character in the empty chair was Mitt's opposition. Score: Romney 1, President Barack Obama 0. The second debate was between Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden. Congressman Ryan was articulate, serious and informed. Mr. Biden had met his match and seemed surprised and thus spent much of his evening making faces, laughing and cracking jokes, much to the distraction of serious debate. Score: Ryan 1, Biden 0. The third debate opened with the president back on his game, alert and ready to make up for his poor performance in the first debate. He and Mr. Romney demonstrated a keen knowledge of the subject matter, and although they may not have agreed on much substance, they certainly were both verbally combative and at times in each other's face. My call on this debate was a half point to each. Finally, the debating came to an end Monday with both the president and Romney raring to go for the full 90 minutes. I am going to change my scoring of this debate from numbers to a letter grade. I agree with journalist Mark Halperin, who gave each man a B+. And now that the debating is over, I will confess to you that I cast my ballot on Oct. 18 at the Womack Building Polk County Election Office under the direction and supervision of Ms. Dale Edwards. I am registered as unaffiliated, but at this crucial time in our country's history, I cast my lot with Romney, but I do know and accept that the people will decide."

Facts

Reach Lou Parris at 828-694-7836 or molehills@blueridgenow.com

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‘ARE WE AFRAID?': Fred Diehn of Horse Shoe is puzzled by the White House administration's inconsistent Mideast policy. "We jumped all over Muammar Gaddafi with no fly zones and missile attacks on military compounds and tanks when he was attacking his own people. Mumblehead in Syria has killed 30,000? And we don't impose a no fly zone when almost every Arab nation in the area is wanting it? Are we afraid of offending Russia and Iran?" he wonders. "I bet even Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia could do it without our assistance if we gave them the go-ahead. We have sold them enough airplanes in the past to get the job done."

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LAST BUT NOT LEAST: This evening there will be a national book release in Tryon, where Ford Smith will present his 2013 edition of "Winning Wines" during a Wine and Sign event at La Bouteille. Each year, Mr. Smith compiles data from the most prestigious, blind taste-testing wine competitions. He has expanded his listings of 1,075 medal winners to include bottles that sell for $15 or less. The free Wine and Sign will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at La Bouteille at 10 N. Trade St. The Smiths will pour four wines — two reds and two whites — from listings in the book. Cheeses and crackers will be available, and Mr. Smith will autograph copies of his $9.95 book. u The Environmental and Conservation Organization will continue its 25th anniversary celebrations with a special annual meeting Saturday at Hickory Nut Forest's Laughing Waters Community Center in Gerton. The event will feature singer and songwriter Aaron Coffin, as well as the Atomic Sisterhood, starting at 2 p.m. A hike in the woods will get under way at 1 p.m. To join in the celebration, call 692-0385.

<p>"It's just one man's opinion," John Albree of Columbus pointed out as he sharpened his pencil for a written assessment of the presidential and vice presidential debates. "For all you regular readers of this column, you know that I am just an 84-year-old retired Army officer and certainly not a political pundit in any sense of the term, but I have listened to all of the debates from start to finish, and for the most part I was happy when they came to their conclusion," he begins. "The first debate was no doubt a major win for former Gov. Mitt Romney. In fact, it was almost like Clint Eastwood's fictional character in the empty chair was Mitt's opposition. Score: Romney 1, President Barack Obama 0. The second debate was between Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden. Congressman Ryan was articulate, serious and informed. Mr. Biden had met his match and seemed surprised and thus spent much of his evening making faces, laughing and cracking jokes, much to the distraction of serious debate. Score: Ryan 1, Biden 0. The third debate opened with the president back on his game, alert and ready to make up for his poor performance in the first debate. He and Mr. Romney demonstrated a keen knowledge of the subject matter, and although they may not have agreed on much substance, they certainly were both verbally combative and at times in each other's face. My call on this debate was a half point to each. Finally, the debating came to an end Monday with both the president and Romney raring to go for the full 90 minutes. I am going to change my scoring of this debate from numbers to a letter grade. I agree with journalist Mark Halperin, who gave each man a B+. And now that the debating is over, I will confess to you that I cast my ballot on Oct. 18 at the Womack Building Polk County Election Office under the direction and supervision of Ms. Dale Edwards. I am registered as unaffiliated, but at this crucial time in our country's history, I cast my lot with Romney, but I do know and accept that the people will decide."</p><p>u</p><p>'ARE WE AFRAID?': Fred Diehn of Horse Shoe is puzzled by the White House administration's inconsistent Mideast policy. "We jumped all over Muammar Gaddafi with no fly zones and missile attacks on military compounds and tanks when he was attacking his own people. Mumblehead in Syria has killed 30,000? And we don't impose a no fly zone when almost every Arab nation in the area is wanting it? Are we afraid of offending Russia and Iran?" he wonders. "I bet even Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia could do it without our assistance if we gave them the go-ahead. We have sold them enough airplanes in the past to get the job done."</p><p>u</p><p>LAST BUT NOT LEAST: This evening there will be a national book release in Tryon, where Ford Smith will present his 2013 edition of "Winning Wines" during a Wine and Sign event at La Bouteille. Each year, Mr. Smith compiles data from the most prestigious, blind taste-testing wine competitions. He has expanded his listings of 1,075 medal winners to include bottles that sell for $15 or less. The free Wine and Sign will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at La Bouteille at 10 N. Trade St. The Smiths will pour four wines — two reds and two whites — from listings in the book. Cheeses and crackers will be available, and Mr. Smith will autograph copies of his $9.95 book. u The Environmental and Conservation Organization will continue its 25th anniversary celebrations with a special annual meeting Saturday at Hickory Nut Forest's Laughing Waters Community Center in Gerton. The event will feature singer and songwriter Aaron Coffin, as well as the Atomic Sisterhood, starting at 2 p.m. A hike in the woods will get under way at 1 p.m. To join in the celebration, call 692-0385.</p>